[benz]

Thanks, Matthew. While keeping a traditional look is important to me, it is not my paramount concern. I plan to cruise long-range with my family, so I'm also looking for simplicity and durability; I want to have no piece of equipment that I can't easily replace myself in some remote corner of the globe. If I went with deadeyes, I would have them machined from aluminum or cast in bronze, with high-modulus line lanyards. Likewise, my mast and spars will be aluminum--in short, I want all the simplicity, beauty and usefulness of tradition, with the strength and durability of modern materials. So as long as the strength and usefulness (and cost) of deadeyes is comparable to that of turnbuckles, I'll gladly go with them, not only to look better. but to save myself from bringing a huge cable cutter in case I should get dismasted and have to chop the rig free.
Ben